


Friends From Up North

by mostlylurking



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Aliens, F/F, GAYLIENS, Gun Violence, Longing Gazes, OG Roswell AU, Rating May Change, Roswell High AU, Slow Burn, Violence, Yearning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:34:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27549931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlylurking/pseuds/mostlylurking
Summary: Josie Saltzman is just a regular high school girl. She goes to school, she has summer flings, and she works after school at her mom's cheesy alien-themed restaurant in the notorious city of Roswell. But then some trigger happy tough guy decided it was a good idea to bring a gun into a diner full of people, and everything changes.Josie Saltzman died by gunshot wound 5 days ago. Well, she should have, but she didn't. And she's pretty sure Hope Mikaelson had something to do with that.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 19
Kudos: 163





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the premise of the OG Roswell show, because that show also had plenty of longing gazes.

**_September 23_ ** **_rd_ ** **_, Journal entry 1: I'm Josie Saltzman, and 5 days ago, I died. After that, things got really weird._ **

The CrashDown is bustling with tourists and the few regulars that usually come in for lunch hour rush. Its walls, true to the theme, are adorned with all kinds of murals and art depicting extraterrestrial beings.

Josie can feel the sweat dripping down the back of her uniform dress as she deftly maneuvers around the retro furniture, careless patrons, and other diner staff. She balances two plates piled high with burgers and fries, while the ridiculous antennae that are a part of her uniform wobble precariously on top of her head. Her customers are an oddly dressed young couple seemingly lost in conversation.

“I've got one Sigourney Weaver. That's for you,” Josie announces as she places one plate in front of the woman with cropped blonde hair and one in front of the man next to her. “And one Will Smith. Can I get you anything else? Green Martian Shake? Blood of Alien Smoothie?”

The couple shake their heads, so Josie decides to angle for some extra tips. “Are you guys here for the Crash Festival?” That catches their interest, and she knows she got them.

“Yeah we are! You're a local. Do you have any tips for things we should check out,” the man asks, eyes comically magnified by his thick glasses. “Or any interesting stories?”

Josie pretends to look around conspiratorially before leaning in closer. “Well, I'm not supposed to show anyone outside the family this, but...” She whips out an old photo from the front of her uniform pocket. The couple examine it with wide eyes. The photo seems to depict an alien with cold dead eyes. “My grandma took that just before _they_ came in and cleaned up the site.”

The couple gasp in sync. Josie leans in even closer. “Don't show that to anyone else. I'll be right back.”

Behind her, Lizzie rolls her eyes at her sister's antics. Her customers are two middle aged men whispering aggressively at one another. They completely brush her off when she asks them if they need anything else.

Josie grabs a bill for one of her tables before Lizzie blocks her path and leans in to whisper in her ear, “So Hope Mikaelson is here _again._ ”

Josie can't help the way her eyes dart up towards where Hope is sitting across from Ethan Machado. Hope catches her looking, and her soulful blue eyes make Josie's breath hitch for a second before she remembers herself. “So? She has a right to be here.”

“So! She's staring at you again,” Lizzie replies with rolled eyes. It makes Josie self conscious.

“No she's not,” she looks down at her uniform and its various stains. Her hair is slowly escaping her ponytail. “Not at this.” She gestures at herself, cheeks pinking. _At least I hope not,_ she thinks with a grimace.

Suddenly, there's a loud crash. The two men Lizzie was serving were now fully shouting at each other, and one of them had thrown his mug on the floor in anger. “I fucking told you I needed the money today!”

Everyone in the diner looks over in shock as the other man pulls out a pistol from the back of his waistband, and the two men begin to struggle.

“Everyone get down,” Lizzie screams, and chaos breaks out as people scramble to get out of the gun's sight. Josie was standing right in the middle of the diner, like a deer caught in headlights. She feels Lizzie tugging her arm downwards just as the gun goes off.

A few feet away, Hope's eyes have been ping-ponging between the gun and Josie. In the span of a few seconds, her worst fear unfolded in this stupid alien-themed diner on a sweltering afternoon. She heard the bang of the pistol and watched, in slow motion, as Josie fell heavily to the floor. Her body was hidden by a booth, but Hope just knew she'd been hit.

And then suddenly time started moving again. The two men, realizing what they'd done, quickly take off. Hope hops out of her booth. She heads straight for Josie, but Ethan places a tight grip on her arm to stop her. “Hope, what do you think you're doing?”

Hope doesn't answer, simply pushes him out of the way. She reaches Josie and leans over her prone body. Blood was steadily leaking from the bullet wound on her stomach, and it nearly stopped her heart. _No no no God no._

“Lizzie, call an ambulance,” Hope shouts. This shakes Lizzie free of her shock, and she grabs the phone from her apron pocket to dial 911.

“Josie, look at me, please,” she pleads as she gently strokes Josie's cheek in order to keep her conscious.

The young couple from before are trying to see over Hope's shoulder, before Ethan pushes them back.

“You're gonna be okay, Josie. You're probably just in shock right now,” Hope says, mostly to reassure herself. She places her hands on Josie's wound, and she feels the familiar surge of power running through her veins. The point where she is touching Josie begins to glow.

Faintly, as the darkness starts bleeding into her vision, Josie sees a pair of blue eyes look down at her full of concern. She hears a familiar voice telling her she'll be okay, but it's muffled. Just as she is about to completely lose consciousness, something begins to tickle at a spot on her abdomen, which grows into a hot vibration that ripples through her entire body.

Josie has never had an out of body experience before, but she thinks this is the closest she'll ever get to it. She could literally feel her soul being sucked back into her body, as her vision clears and her breathing grows less labored.

Those blue eyes come into focus again. It's Hope, and Josie's traumatized mind could only drudge up a single thought. _She looks like an angel,_ Josie thinks, the way Hope's skin glows in the golden afternoon light.

She looks down towards where Hope's hands are touching her stomach. Slowly, she begins to recall the gunshot and the panicked screams. And the bullet entering her body, knocking her to the floor. _I was shot._

“Hope, what--” she mumbles, but she couldn't finish her sentence before Hope grabs a nearby ketchup bottle and smashes it on a shelf.

  
  


Hope did the first thing she could think of to salvage her colossal fuck up. She breaks open the ketchup bottle and starts pouring it over the spot where Josie's wound used to be.

“You fell, and you hit your head. You knocked this ketchup bottle on yourself, but you'll be fine,” Hope rushes her words, eyes almost pleading, before dashing for the door.

Hope and Ethan duck out of the CrashDown just as police sirens signal the arrival of emergency vehicles. The two don't stop running until they clear several blocks and need to catch their breath.

Josie leans against the vinyl booth in a daze as she watches her sister struggle to give her statement to a sheriff's deputy. She wraps her jacket more tightly around herself. It's way too hot for her to be wearing it, but it comforts her. Plus, she needed some way to cover up the hole in her dress. She can sense Lizzie’s growing panic, but Josie’s brain is too busy trying to process the events that unfolded not more than 30 minutes ago. 

_I was shot. I was shot in the stomach, and then Hope Mikaelson touched me? And now I’m no longer shot, and oh my God maybe I did hit my head. I’m probably concussed because there is no way that just happened. I need a brain scan._

She vaguely registers the young couple from before wandering around the diner, as if looking for something. Josie forces herself to focus on her surroundings, and, just as she’s about to tell them to stop snooping, her mom comes running into the diner. 

Caroline’s usually perfect blonde hair is mussed, and she’s slightly out of breath as her eyes search for her daughters amidst the debris and people. 

“Mom,” Josie and Lizzie both cry out at once. Josie finally gets up to walk towards her mom, and Caroline pulls her daughters into a crushing embrace. 

She pulls back to check them over for injuries and notices the giant red stain on Josie’s dress peeking out from under her jacket. “Oh my God, honey! Are you bleeding?” Josie follows her mom’s panicked gaze and freezes, unsure what she should say. 

“It looks like ketchup,” Lizzie comments, which snaps Josie out of her stupor. 

“Yeah, mom. I’m fine. I, um, I think I fell and broke a ketchup bottle,” she stutters out, unable to look her mom and sister in the eyes. Josie’s always been a terrible liar. Lizzie glances over, noting her skittish behavior but not commenting. 

“Thank God you’re both okay. I was so scared when I heard. Your dad called to let me know.” She gently strokes her daughters’ hair, eyes wet with unshed tears.

“Speak of the devil,” Lizzie mumbles under her breath, and Josie looks up to see what her sister is referring to. 

The sheriff of Roswell, himself, was heading straight towards them. His quick stride and the frown on his forehead are the only clues to his internal turmoil. 

Alaric Saltzman always held himself with all the dignity required of his post in public, but Josie and Lizzie are well acquainted with the other side of their dad. The side that buried himself into his work and his bottle of bourbon when their biological mother, Josette, passed away. The side that forgot to pick them up after school because he was sleeping off his afternoon drinking in his office. The side that couldn’t look them in the eyes on the rare occasion that they had dinner together.

There’s a reason Josie and Lizzie now live with their surrogate mom, Caroline. Alaric was still enough of a father to know that he was no longer the parent they deserved, and he made the decision to ask Caroline a second time for a life changing favor. She said yes immediately. 

It took the girls a while to get over it. They love Caroline, but it still hurt them to feel unwanted by their dad. Caroline gently tried to explain to them that he only did what he thought was best for them because he loves them. They’ve grown to accept that, but their relationship with Alaric is stilted, to say the least. 

“What happened here?” Alaric asks immediately when he walks through the door.

“Hi Dad, Josie and I are fine! Thanks for asking,” Lizzie snarks. Alaric sighs, looking mildly shamed.

"I'm sorry I took so long. I had some business outside of town," he apologizes quietly. Before he can say anything else, Josie decides to spare him.

“It's okay, dad," she says with a kind smile. "Two men were having an argument and one of them decided that it’d be a good idea to whip out his gun in a diner full of people. A shot went off in the struggle, but, as you can see, no one was hurt,” she recounted.

Alaric nodded along until his eyes glanced down towards the ketchup stain on Josie’s dress, and they widened in concern. 

Josie notices this and shakes her head preemptively and subconsciously pulls her jacket closed. “It’s just ketchup!” 

That’s when the nosy couple decided to interject, much to her annoyance. “Um you’re the sheriff, right?” The man asks sheepishly. Alaric nods. 

“Oh good. Something strange happened here, sheriff,” he continues, and the woman nods along eagerly. “There’s no bullet.” 

Alaric frowns in confusion, waiting for him to continue.

“Yeah, there’s no bullet hole anywhere in this diner, and we’ve looked,” the woman clarifies.

 _Shit,_ Josie thought to herself. _This is why everyone hates tourists._

“Well, to be fair you’ve only been looking for like 5 minutes,” she laughs nervously. “It could be anywhere.”

The couple open their mouths to argue but Josie turns to her father, brown doe eyes and pouty face in place. “Dad, I fell earlier and I think I might have hit my head,” she gently prods at the back of her head. “Do you think you can take me to the hospital to get checked out? I’d ask mom, but I think she’ll need to stay here and oversee the damage.”

“Of course, honey,” Alaric agrees immediately, a concerned frown on his forehead. “You two,” he turns to the tourist couple. “Please give your statements to my deputy,” he states firmly before gently guiding his daughter outside. 

Josie secretly smirks, relieved to have put a stop to that particular line of questioning. She wasn't sure what happened, but she distinctly remembers Hope's pleading eyes, begging Josie to believe that she fell and broke a ketchup bottle. Something told Josie that this was a matter of life or death. _I really need to talk to Hope._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie confronts Hope about the incident. Hope couldn't hold it together for five minutes without spilling her soul.

It is dark out by the time Alaric pulls into the driveway of Caroline’s house and puts the car into park. 

“Are you sure you don’t need me to look after you?” His brow furrows with worry. Josie thinks it hasn’t stopped furrowing since they left the diner.

“You heard the doctor, dad. There’s nothing wrong with me,” she says with, what she hopes, is a comforting smile. “Besides, Lizzie and mom will be home soon. I just want to take a shower and get started on my homework.”

In fact, Lizzie had texted earlier to let her know that she is sticking around to help Caroline clean up, but that she’d drive home immediately if Josie needs her. Josie also told her sister to stay with their mom. 

Alaric nods reluctantly, and Josie feels even worse about brushing off her dad when he seems to be trying really hard to be attentive. She gives him a tight hug instead, which he reciprocates after a second. It’s been a long time since he’d shown his daughters any affection, preferring to stay away out of the fear that he’d screw up their relationship even more. 

Josie pulls away from the hug and gives him a quick smile before opening the car door. She has one foot outside when Alaric speaks up again.

“I’m just a call or text away if you need me, you know.”

She turns around to look at her dad. He looks forlorn and it makes Josie immediately want to cheer him up. “I know, dad. Why don’t we hang out this weekend? You, me, and Lizzie. We can go see a movie or something,” she suggests hopefully.

His face lights up for the first time in a wide grin. “Deal. I can come pick you and Lizzie up. It’ll be just like old times.” 

“Yeah. Just like old times. I’ll confirm the plans with Lizzie once she’s home.”

Josie slams her door shut the moment she steps into her room. She strips off her jacket to look closer at the hole in her dress, which was definitely made by a bullet. Frustrated, confused, and feeling grimy, Josie pulls off her dress and tosses it on the floor like it has offended her. She’s about to hop in the shower when she catches herself in the mirror and freezes.

There, where her gunshot wound was supposed to be, was a glowing silver handprint. She stares at it in equal parts horror and fascination. Whatever Hope did, it literally left a mark on Josie. She even tries rubbing at it, but it wouldn’t go away. 

She lets out a loud sigh. “Shit.”

Josie woke up restless the next morning, anxiety or something like it eating away at her. She wouldn’t stop shaking her leg, to the point where Lizzie glared at her fifteen minutes into homeroom.

“What’s wrong with you,” she whispers loudly at Josie when their teacher is busy taking roll calls.   
  


“Nothing,” she shrugs, false nonchalance not convincing her sister. 

Lizzie shakes her head, “Maybe you should’ve listened to mom and stayed home today. You did go through some trauma yesterday.”

Josie rolls her eyes. “So did you! I’m surprised  _ you  _ turned down mom’s offer to let us stay home.”

“I’m sure people at school will have many questions. I can’t leave my public hanging,” she states matter-of-factly. Josie had to chuckle at the fact that Lizzie’s desire to be the center of attention outweighed even her disdain for classes. 

“Yeah well I’m fine. No reason to miss classes.”

“Then, for the love of God, stop shaking your leg. You’re giving me secondhand anxiety,” Lizzie shoots back fiercely and puts a hand on Josie’s knee to still her leg.

It’s not Josie’s fault. She really needed to talk with Hope about yesterday, but they don’t share any classes until AP Bio in the afternoon. So the rest of her day is spent pretty much the same way: constantly jittery until Lizzie shoots her a look. She ends up avoiding her sister as much as possible. 

Hope is late to Bio, because of course. On the one day Josie was desperate to see her. 

The teacher, Mr. Williams, is droning on about their weekly topic of cellular something or other. “So what makes us different from, say, plants? Or,” he pauses for effect, “aliens? Well our cells hold the answer.”

That gets Josie’s attention. Right on cue, Hope barges into the room, a pencil tucked behind one ear. She shuffles to the only empty seat left next to Josie and mumbles an apology to Mr. Williams. She removes the pencil from behind her ear and mindlessly sticks the eraser end of it into her mouth as she pulls out her notebook.

“Thank you for joining us Ms. Mikaelson,” he says pointedly. “As I was saying, today’s assignment is taking a closer look at our cellular makeup. You’re going to partner up and use the cotton swabs I’ve placed in front of you to take a sample of cells from your cheeks.”

Hope suddenly freezes and her eyes widen. Her hand shoots up. “Mr. Williams? May I use the restroom?”

Mr. Williams sighs but he’s much too nice to deny her. “High maintenance today, aren’t we?” 

Josie watches her rush out of the room, before her attention turns back to the assignment in front of her.

“Follow the instructions on your worksheets to prepare a slide of your cells and describe what you see,” Mr. Williams explains as he walks around the classroom. 

Josie swabs her own cheek and uses an eyedropper to place a chemical solution on the cotton to collect her cells on a slide. Under the microscope, she notes that her cells are pink and meshed together.

And then she remembers that Hope had left her stuff behind, including the pencil that she was chewing on earlier. Without a second thought, Josie snatches it from Hope’s side of the table and uses the solution to make a second slide.

The cells on this slide were green, with walls separating the individual cells from each other. 

Lizzie mindlessly picks at her nails while her History teacher is explaining the delicate dynamics of the Cold War. 

"What's on your mind," the boy next to her whispers as he leans in closer to her. 

MG's eyes are kind and patient as he awaits her answer. He always is to Lizzie. MG has always nursed a substantial crush on the girl, ever since 9-year-old Lizzie stood up for him when other kids made fun of his name. He loves his parents, but he finds their decision to name him Milton an unforgiveable crime. 

"Josie's been weird today," she whispers back.

"You guys did go through something really traumatic yesterday. Maybe you should talk to someone."

"I already do," she replies pointedly. "But Josie's being...squirrelly. She can't seem to make eye contact whenever someone asks her how she's doing. She's jumpy, which I guess makes sense, but she's been avoidant with me. Me!" 

MG sighs. Lizzie always took great offense whenever Josie didn't feel like sharing. In a small corner of his mind, he always thought they were a little too co-dependent and that it couldn't be good for either girl. Twins or not, everyone needed some privacy, their own space to grow. He'd never tell Lizzie that, though, and risk her wrath. He figures that's a discussion for her and her therapist, whom he knows Lizzie has been seeing for 2 years.

"Maybe she just needs some time to process. We all respond to things differently. Maybe...maybe let her work it out and she'll come to you eventually. I know it," he reassures her with a genuine smile.

Lizzie hums, but she doesn't look convinced.

The moment the lunch bell rings, Josie is determined to find Hope. She sees a flash of red hair in the hallway and uses her long legs to catch up to the other girl. 

“We need to talk. Now,” she says in a low voice and grabs Hope’s arm to prevent her from escaping. Josie pulls them into the music room, which was supposed to be empty, but there’s a loud banging noise. Josie stops in her tracks when she recognizes the figure making the racket. 

Penelope hears the doors open and shut and footsteps enter the music room. She stops banging on the drums and turns around to see who it was. Her eyes are hidden behind sunglasses to hide the fact that she might have smoked a little too much weed in the bathroom earlier. 

She mentally forces herself to focus on the fact that in front of her stood Josie Saltzman and Hope Mikaelson for some reason. She didn’t remember them ever hanging out together, let alone in an empty classroom during lunch. Josie was even holding on to Hope’s arm.  _ What the hell? _

“Jojo? Hey,” she smiles and removes her sunglasses. “I heard about what happened at the diner. Are you okay?”

Josie could not believe what was happening. She was just looking for some privacy to talk to Hope about her decidedly  _ nonhuman  _ problem, but she'd run into her ex instead, doing...whatever she was doing in the music room. Not only that, but Penelope, who’d managed to woo her and unceremoniously dump her in the span of one summer, was asking after Josie’s wellbeing with that gentle voice and soft gaze.  _ Like she really cares.  _

“I’m doing fine, Penelope. Thanks for asking,” she hurries out, hoping to end this conversation.

“Yeah, of course. I care about you. I was actually wondering if we could talk? You haven’t answered any of my texts.” 

The way Penelope says that last bit almost accusingly had Josie’s blood boiling. She takes a deep breath before saying coldly, “I didn’t think we had anything left to discuss. You made that very clear when I saw you last.”

“About that, Jojo I--”

“I’m sorry but Hope and I have a project to work on.” 

Penelope sighs, her eyes imploring. “Okay, but can you please give me a chance to explain? Can we meet up somewhere after school? We can go somewhere that’s not the CrashDown,” she practically begs.

Never let it be said that Josie wasn’t a forgiving person. Plus she was eager to get Penelope out of the music room. 

“Okay, fine. I’ll text you later, Pen.”

Penelope’s face lit up, and, for one second, Josie remembers the charming girl who asked her out at the beginning of summer. 

“You’re the best,” she says softly, making no move to leave. Josie clears her throat.

“Pen, Hope and I really need to work on our project.”

“Oh yeah. Right. Bye, Jojo,” she says with adoring eyes lingering over Josie’s face. “Later, Mikaelson.”

Hope watched the entire exchange with what she hoped was a blank mask on her face. The reality was she could hardly look at the two other girls. It was definitely a sore spot for Hope to watch Josie interact with Penelope. Cool, beautiful Penelope, who had the courage to just ask Josie out instead of spending all her time staring at her longingly from afar. Penelope, who had shown up to the bonfire their mutual friends had over the summer with one arm slung around Josie’s shoulders. The two of them had spent that entire evening whispering to each other, and it drove Hope crazy every time Josie would giggle or blush at something Penelope said. The jealousy made Hope want to simultaneously run away yet unable to take her eyes off them all night.

When Hope had heard through the grapevine that Josie caught Penelope making out with some girl at the indie theater, Hope felt this irrational urge to punch the cheater in her smug face. Josie deserved so much more than that.  _ How could anyone cheat on her? She was like the human embodiment of warm tea and a cozy blanket on a rainy day. _

“Hope, are you listening to me?”  _ Clearly not.  _

“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Hope asked a little guiltily.

“I said I took a look at your cells.”

“What?” Hope’s eyes widened in panic.

“I, um, I got them from your pencil. They didn’t look like mine, Hope. So clearly there’s been a mistake,” Josie rambles nervously. “I just need to take another sample to prove that it was all a misunderstanding. Because there’s no way that your cells could look like that. And there’s no way I got shot yesterday and you just healed me, but that’s what my brain is telling me. And I feel crazy, Hope! But then there’s this.” 

Hope watches speechlessly as Josie slowly lifts her shirt. Her first impulse is to blush at the revelation of Josie’s stomach.  _ Get it together, you idiot.  _ But then Hope sees it. The handprint. She knows she's well and truly fucked.

“What is this, Hope?”

Hope is still unable to conjure up any semblance of a coherent answer, so her mouth just opens and closes like a fish. She’s unable to look away from the handprint, meanwhile, she can feel Josie’s eyes on her like lasers. Josie steps even closer, and finally Hope makes eye contact with her. Josie looks so confused and hurt that Hope felt her own heart clenching.

“What did you do to me,” Josie asks with a shaky voice.

It broke Hope’s heart, and her mouth spoke before her brain could catch up.

“I’m--I’m not from here,” she whispers hoarsely. 

Josie stares at her silently for a moment. “Where are you from,” she asks, already knowing the answer. Intellectually, she’d known the answer since she recovered from her gunshot wound at the diner yesterday.

Hope raises an index finger and hesitantly points upward.

“The North?”

Hope shakes her head and raises her finger a bit higher, pointing emphatically in the air. A laugh bubbles up Josie’s throat and she’s unable to stop it from coming out. Hope looks mildly offended at that. 

“No. You’re joking. This is a prank. I’m--I have to go.” She shakes her head in denial as she rushes towards the door, but Hope reaches her first. She blocks Josie’s path, and the two are so close that Josie could count all of her long lashes. Even now, Josie feels like she could drown in the way that Hope’s eyes are captivating her.

“Please, Josie, you can’t tell anybody. I just wanted to help. I just--I couldn’t leave you like that,” she pleads with Josie. “But I put all of us at risk, and I need you to keep this to yourself. I don’t know what they’d do to us if they found out, but I could take a guess.”

“Us?” Josie hones in on that part, and Hope freezes, realizing that she’d slip up.

“Me. What they’d do to me,” she tries to correct but it was too late.

“Who else?”

Hope clenches her jaw, angry with herself.  _ Stupid. So stupid. _ She shakes her head resolutely.

“You know I can’t tell you, but please, Jo,” she grips Josie’s arms desperately. “Don’t tell anyone.” 

Suddenly, Josie feels a rush of emotions, and images flash before her eyes. She sees herself, when she was younger, playing with her sister and their friends. Singing at the middle school talent show. Raising her hand in class. Biting her lip in thought. Working at the diner. Kissing Penelope at the bonfire. All these memories are of her, but she’s being seen through someone else’s eyes.  _ Hope’s. _

The accompanying emotional rollercoaster was almost too much for Josie to bear. The adoration, the longing, and the undeniable desire. Josie couldn’t breathe. 

When she comes back to herself, Josie sees Hope standing in front of her, eyes wide. She’s glaring at her own shaking hands and then back up at Josie. Before Josie could utter a single word, Hope disappears through the doors and leaves Josie standing there in a near trance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm notoriously bad at replying to things, but I really do appreciate the kudos and comments.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josie has a strange dream, and it'd be great if Hope could stop avoiding her now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably full of mistakes. Sorry.

“I can’t believe you just did it in front of an entire diner full of people, Hope. What were you thinking?” Maya rolled her eyes as she poured half a bottle of hot sauce on her salad. A quirk of her alien biology that she has long since learned to laugh off whenever someone would give her weird looks for it. Spice tolerance, at least, was easy to explain away, unlike Hope’s Jesus healing trick.

The three of them were huddled around the lunch table in the most secluded corner, speaking in hushed voices.

Maya knew that Hope had a hero streak a mile long. She also has a martyr complex, but Maya supposes the 2 go hand-in-hand. She blames herself for not nipping it in the bud before this most recent catastrophe.

“She wasn’t,” Ethan smirks at his sister, nudging Hope’s side. “Hope rarely thinks when it involves Josie Saltzman.” Hope shoves him as he chuckles teasingly.

“I don’t know how you can be so cavalier about this, Ethan,” Maya scolded her brother. “She just potentially exposed us to the world, and I am not in the mood to ‘ET’ it out of here with my tail between my legs before Homecoming.”

“For God’s sake, it’s not a big deal okay? No one saw me!” Hope raises her voice in frustration and immediately gets shushed by Maya. 

“Josie saw you,” Ethan points out while stealing a fry from Hope’s abandoned lunch tray.

“Josie wouldn’t say anything,” Hope replies immediately. 

“And how would you know that?” Maya shoots back.

“Because she asked me earlier about it and I asked her not to say anything. Josie knows what’s at stake. She wouldn’t do that.”

Maya and Ethan both blink at her for a few seconds before Maya nearly explodes. 

“Oh my God! You told her didn’t you?” She gapes at Hope, unable to process the monumental recklessness of the other girl.

“You guys use your powers all the time,” she huffs at Maya, who is now heating up her patty melt with her hand. 

“Yeah, for small things like taming my mane on a bad hair day or to heat up my food. Not resurrect my childhood crush in front of dozens of people.” Maya looks at Hope like she’s thick. “And now you’ve spilled all of our secrets to her, who’s probably running to her sheriff dad as we speak.”

Hope just shakes her head. She knows Josie was shaken by her confession, but there is no way Josie would put Hope in danger like that. They might not have ever been close, but Josie was a good person who only ever wanted to help people.  _ It’s what I lo--like most about her,  _ Hope mentally corrected herself.  _ Josie would never betray my trust. _

“Hello, Hope where are you?” Maya snaps her fingers in front of Hope’s zoned out face.

“She won’t. She won’t rat on us,” Hope nodded with finality. 

Maya sighs. There’s just no way to keep Hope grounded to reality when it comes to Josie Saltzman.

“Well, push comes to shove, we run, right?” Ethan shrugs as if that’s the easiest thing in the world. 

“Really, Ethan? Just like that?” Maya shakes her head incredulously. “We have a life here.  _ I  _ have a life here. I have friends...and what about mom?”

Ethan’s eyes soften, and he puts an arm over his sister’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Maya. I know how much you love it here. And, of course, I love mom, too. But we all need to accept the fact that if the government finds out about us, it might be safer for us--and her--if we leave.” 

Ethan looks at his sister and Hope regretfully, letting the truth of his statement sink in.

“Listen, let’s not panic and do something stupid. I trust Josie,” Hope says resolutely, which earns her a dramatic eye roll from Maya. “And...if anything were to happen, I won’t let it get to you.” 

Both Maya and Ethan scowl at her comment. “Don’t be stupid, Hope,” Ethan brushes her off. “We’re in this together, okay? We’ll figure something out together.”

“He’s right,” Maya sighs. “Your hero acts might get on my nerves, but you are my family, too, Hope. We won’t let you go down alone.” 

Hope looks at the twins, both gazing back at her with sincere care, and she feels a kind of warmth filling her up. These are two of her favorite people, and they never fail to make her feel loved.

Josie fidgets in her seat, hands playing with the mug in front of her. She clears her throat as she makes eye contact with Penelope, who sits on the other side of the table. Penelope was just openly staring at her, eyes tracing Josie’s face, and it makes her a bit self-conscious.

“You said you wanted to talk?” Josie asks quietly.

“Yeah I did,” Penelope looks a bit solemn now. 

Josie nods encouragingly, hoping to get this over with as soon as possible. Josie might be a forgiving person, but she doubts there’s anything Penelope can say to explain away what happened over the summer. No one pointed a gun to Penelope’s head and told her to suck face with that girl while she’d let Josie believe that they had something real. 

“I...I’m always scared that people are gonna leave me,” Penelope blurts out, which makes Josie’s eyebrows rise in surprise. “And it makes me feel vulnerable. So I lash out and fuck everything up before they get a chance to get tired of me. That way, I am the one who leaves.”

Josie doesn’t know how to take this confession. In a way, she gets it. Penelope looks so small right now, that Josie has the urge to hug her and make it all better. On the other hand, she hurt Josie. A lot. Penelope was her first real relationship, and she was starting to think that she could actually fall for her.

“And I saw the way that you and your sister are so close, and I know Lizzie isn’t my biggest fan. And I was afraid that--”

“That’s not an excuse, Penelope!” And there goes any lingering sympathy she had for her. How dare she bring up Lizzie when Penelope made the choice to cheat. 

“I know. I know, Josie. I’m just explaining why I did what I did, and I want you to know I’m really sorry. You deserve so much better than that.” 

Penelope looks so contrite that Josie feels her earlier rage subside. She takes a deep breath.

“Thank you for your apology. It’s accepted,” Josie shoots her a soft smile.

Penelope returns it, eyes tracing Josie’s face fondly again.

“I was hoping we could be friends? Maybe start over fresh?”

Josie takes a second to think it over before nodding slowly.

“I can always use more friends.”

Penelope beams at her, “Thank you.”

Josie nods before her phone buzzes on the table where she’s placed it.

“That’s Lizzie. We’re having a girls’ night with our mom tonight, and I have to go help with dinner,” she says as she slowly gets up and gathers her things. Josie does a little stretch and her hoodie rides up. Penelope notices something that looks like silver paint near Josie’s ribs.

“What’s that?” she asks, and Josie’s eyes widen in panic.

“Nothing!” she hurriedly pulls down her hoodie to cover her stomach. 

“It looks like paint,” Penelope frowns in confusion.

“Oh, right!” Josie replies with a nervous laugh. “I got some paint on myself.”

Penelope blinks waiting for Josie to explain further.

“I was...making signs,” she continues, tone almost questioning. “For the diner. Yup!”

Penelope nods, but her face is disbelieving.

“This was nice. Thanks for explaining and apologizing, Pen. I really do appreciate it,” Josie says with a genuine smile. “I’ll see you at school?”

“See you at school, Jojo.”

_ It was the first day of first grade. She was holding Freya’s hand as they walked through the entrance of the elementary school. Next to them Ethan and Maya were each holding on to their adoptive mom as they entered the schoolyard.  _

_ She felt almost overwhelmed at the noises and sights that greeted them. Kids were running around giggling, while parents chatted among themselves. It’s early in the morning, but the New Mexico sun was up bright and early, casting a warm glow over the playground. Her eyes kept wandering, eager to take in everything, until they were caught on something. Or, rather, someone. There standing among a circle of other kids is a girl about her age. She’s in a yellow sundress dotted with white daisies, and Hope can’t stop staring at her. Her perfectly curled brown hair frames her big brown eyes, which are now staring back at Hope. The girl smiles, one of her front teeth missing, and Hope can’t help but return it. She feels the urge to get to know her. She needs to know her. _

Josie’s eyes blink open as her brain takes a second to catch up to her surroundings. Her dream was absolutely confusing, because Josie could swear that she was dreaming as Hope. Or it was more like she was recalling Hope’s memory. Josie could feel everything that Hope was feeling in that moment, including the overwhelming emotions she felt when she saw Josie.

She needs to talk to Hope again, and this time, she wants real answers.

“You were up early this morning,” Lizzie comments, her eyes on the road and one hand hanging out the car window. Josie was still focused on picking a song before their drive to school ended, so she hums distractedly. 

“Are you feeling okay?” This time Lizzie looks over, hoping to catch Josie’s attention. As if on cue, Josie yawns loudly. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Josie replies, still scrolling through her playlist before clicking on a song. A bright pop song plays through the speakers, and Josie can only hope that it’ll help energize her. “I think a bird or something woke me up, and I couldn’t go back to sleep.” 

Lizzie is pensive for a minute before she speaks up, “You know you can always tell me if you’re going through something, right? I know I haven’t always been the best sister--”

“Don’t say that, Lizzie,” Josie cuts her off. “You’ve been through a lot, and I know you’re trying really hard. You’ve done so much work with your therapist, and I’m proud of you.” Josie looks at her sister earnestly. 

Lizzie chuckles, “Okay thank you, but this is not about me. Don’t get me wrong, you can keep praising me.” That earns her a laugh from Josie. “But first, I need you to tell me if something’s bothering you. Doctor O’Connell always says that we each process events and traumas in different ways, and it’s okay if something bothers you more than you think it should. Just talk to someone about it. Preferably, me” Lizzie shoots her sister a cheesy grin.

“I promise I will, Liz,” Josie assures her with a nod. “I think I just need some time to process.”

“Take all the time you need.”

Josie is suddenly filled with so much affection for Lizzie. She truly has come so far, but there are some things that Josie just can’t tell her. At least not yet.

Naturally, Hope is being extra elusive today. Once in a while, Josie would still sense Hope’s gaze on her in their shared classes. But by the time she looks up, Hope’s eyes are already elsewhere, decidedly avoiding Josie.

She even manages to elude Josie once the lunch bell rings. Hope speedwalks out of their shared Bio class and is immediately flanked by Ethan and Maya as the trio walks to the cafeteria together.

_ Fine. You leave me no choice. _

Halfway through fifth period, when she knows Hope is in P.E. class, Josie asks to go use the bathroom. Of course, Josie wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but she’s always observant of Hope’s schedule. It’s almost an instinct at this point, and she will take this embarrassing secret to the grave. God helps her if Lizzie ever finds out.

Josie makes her way to the track where the P.E. classes are doing cardio today and looks around for that familiar head of red hair. She spots Hope veering off the track towards one of the drinking fountains. Other than a sheen of sweat, she doesn’t seem as affected by the work out as the other students. 

Josie can’t help noticing the way her sweat-drenched shirt sticks to her back muscles as she leans over to take a drink of water. Her surprisingly tone arm bracing against the fountain. Josie’s eyes travel down a bit further, before she has to physically shake her head to stop from ogling the girl.

_ Dammit, Josie. Focus! _

She quickly runs over to Hope before anyone else could notice and pulls her behind the nearby bleachers.

“What the hell,” Hope yelps at being manhandled. “Josie? What are you doing here?”

“You’ve been avoiding me, Hope,” her tone left no room for argument. “I need answers, soon, or I’m going to lose my mind. I’m having these dreams, and I don’t understand what they are!” Her voice has continued to rise in volume, and Hope looks around nervously.

“Please, Jo, keep it down,” Hope pleads. She almost reaches out to touch Josie, but thinks better of it at the last second. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Josie.

“When you touched me, something happened. Didn’t it?”

Hope is avoiding her gaze, but Josie’s eyes continue to bore into Hope. 

“Those were your memories, weren’t they?” Josie asks hesitantly. She could see Hope’s jaw tighten. Her blue eyes were so troubled that Josie felt a need to reach out. 

Hope watches as Josie’s hand draws closer to her cheek. It lands there gently, soft as a butterfly, and Josie’s thumb slowly strokes her jawline. Hope immediately relaxes at the touch. She could smell Josie’s perfume or whatever scent it is that Josie always carries on her. It’s subtly flowery and sweet. Soothing. Just like Josie herself. 

Hope has to fight off the urge to turn her head and kiss Josie’s wrist like they’re in some sort of romance novel.  _ We are not even dating. That would be wildly inappropriate,  _ she reminds herself. Although it could be said that Josie touching her like this is also a bit inappropriate as well.

“So it doesn’t work if I touch you?” Josie asks quietly, and Hope is confused by the question. “The memory transfer thing. It only works if you...if you touch me?”

Hope bites her lower lip and Josie notes that it looks so plump and bite-able. 

“It only works if I’m feeling strong emotions, usually,” Hope answers a bit shyly. “Or when I really focus on it.”

They’ve unconsciously gravitated closer to each other, and Josie can feel the warmth that Hope is radiating now.

“I need answers, Hope. Actual, coherent sentences, this time,” she says gently. Hand still on Hope’s jaw, fingers brushing the baby hair on the nape of her neck now. Josie gently brushes them, because she just can’t control herself, apparently. 

It seems to work in her favor, though, because Hope closes her eyes leaning into the touch. She takes a deep breath and nods.

“Okay, Jo. I’ll tell you everything, I promise,” Hope agrees drowsily. “But later, okay? Somewhere more private.”

“Come by my house later. Lizzie’s hanging out with some friends, and my mom will be closing up the diner.” Josie pauses before continuing, “We’ll be alone.”

The thought of that nearly makes Hope’s head spin, and she nods dumbly. Josie’s fingers slowly withdraw from her neck, and Hope misses them immediately. They look at each other meaningfully for a few more seconds before Hope can hear the teacher shouting for her on the track. 

“You better go,” Josie points out. “I need to get back, too.”

Hope nods again, but neither makes a move until they can hear the teacher’s voice draw closer to the bleachers. It snaps them out of whatever trance they were in, and Josie finally moves to go back towards the school.

“See you later, Hope,” she smiles shyly at her.

“See you later, Jo.” 

And with that Josie turns to walk away, leaving Hope standing there to stare at her retreating back. Hope’s stomach was doing all sorts of gymnastics at the thought of being alone with Josie later that night. Maybe in her room, even. Where Josie sleeps and does homework and daydreams, like Hope always catches her doing in class. Hope’s thoughts were spiraling at the same rate that her heart was now pounding. She doesn’t know if she’s going to survive tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sharing sesh. Josie sees through Hope's eyes, and they spend the whole time thirsting after each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, riddled with mistakes, I'm sure, but I needed to crank it out before The Procrastination comes again. Thank you for the kudos and comments.

**_Growing up in Roswell, it’s hard to not to get wrapped up in all things extraterrestrial. Most of the businesses here rely on that schtick to stay in business. But as much as people here like to talk about aliens, what they fail to tell you is how sweet they are with their soulful, piercing blue eyes. Or how gentle they can be when they accidentally brush fingers with you while you’re working together in class. Or how many butterflies they give you when they come visit you at home for a private conversation._ **

Josie tosses another shirt to the pile on her bed with a huff and goes back into her closet to look for something else. As much as she has repeatedly told herself that this is not a date, she couldn’t help it. She was about to let Hope into her room. Her private sanctum. The only other person who gets to come in here is Lizzie, but that’s only because the two used to share a room, anyways. 

Her phone buzzes on the nightstand, and she grabs it to check. It’s a text from Hope letting her know that she was downstairs.

“Shit,” Josie panics. She grabs the pile of discarded clothes and tosses them back in her closet. She slams the closet door shut and runs towards the stairs. She’s halfway to the front door when she catches herself in the hallway mirror and realizes that she’s still not wearing a shirt, so she runs back to grab a long sleeve tee and throws it on. 

Hope is wondering if Josie has seen her text and is about to ring the doorbell when Josie throws the door open. She’s breathing a little hard like she’s been running, which leaves Hope confused.

“Are you okay?” Hope asks. “You seem a little flushed.” 

“Yeah!” Josie answers a bit too loudly. “I’m fine. Come in” she says more quietly this time steps aside to let Hope in. 

Hope notes that the house is spacious, but definitely lived in. The decor reveals the different personalities that reside there, and it smells like baked goods. It just feels like a home full of love.

“Let’s go up to my room,” Josie tells Hope before heading up the stairs. Hope is really glad she decided to shower and wear relatively presentable clothes before coming over. Not that this is a date or anything, she tells herself again. But Freya has trained her from a young age that if you’re going to go into someone’s home for the first time, at least respect them enough to not look unkempt. It’s just manners. 

Josie notices Hope’s eyes wandering around the house, and it makes the butterflies in her stomach start to flutter even harder. She doubts that Hope is the judgemental type, but she still wants to make a good impression. She’d tried to clean her room earlier, so, hopefully Hope won’t leave her house disgusted with the way she lives. 

“Sorry for the mess,” Josie preemptively apologizes as she lets Hope into her room.

“No,” Hope quickly shakes her head. “I like it. I like your house. It smells like cookies.” Hope grins shyly and her eyes crinkle. _Shit she’s so cute when she does that,_ Josie thinks to herself. 

Josie closes and locks her door behind her. _Just in case._

“So,” she says hesitantly. They’re both just standing across from each other, unsure of what to do next. 

Josie finally takes the plunge and sits down at the foot of her bed. She pats the spot next to her, silently asking Hope to sit down. She obliges, and Josie becomes hyper aware of the places where their bodies brush against each other. 

They stay silent for a moment before Josie decides that she’ll probably need to take the lead in this conversation. They’re just wasting precious moments before her mother or sister comes home, and then she’d have no idea how to explain what exactly Hope is doing here. Lizzie knows they’re not working on any project together, and she and Hope have never been close enough for this home visit.

“Can you tell me exactly what happened at the diner?” Josie asks gently, not wanting to spook Hope any further. “How did you...do whatever it is that you did to my gunshot wound?”

Hope looks up at that. She sighs deeply and seems to think for a second before speaking up.

“I can heal living things. I’m not sure of the science behind it all, but I’ve known it since I was a kid.”

“Can all of you do it?” Josie asks pointedly. “You, Ethan, and Maya?”

Panic flashes across Hope’s face, and she looks like a deer in headlights.

“Oh, come on, Hope. I’m not stupid,” Josie tells her matter-of-factly. “They’re the only two other people you hang out with. You three are practically attached at the hips. If anyone else at this school are aliens, it has to be them.” Josie shrugs when Hope continues to stare at her, wide eyed.

Finally Hope closes her eyes and shakes her head. 

“Don’t worry. I won’t put you in danger. I owe you my life, after all,” she smiles reassuringly.

Hope sighs again. She seems to do that a lot.

“I guess there’s no point in denying it,” she says in resignation, and Josie shakes her head with a smile.

“No, they can’t,” Hope admits. “All of us share the ability to change the state of matter. Solid to liquid, that sort of thing. That’s how I extracted the bullet from your body.” 

Josie is hanging on to her every word. There’s a part of her, the budding young scientist part, that is fascinated with this information. Not that she’ll tell Hope, because she doesn’t want the girl to think that Josie is going to go all mad scientist and experiment on her or anything.

“Then, I just focused on healing you. I don’t know how to explain it, really,” Hope explains thoughtfully. “I just feel this current running through me whenever I do it.”

“Have you done it before, then?” Josie says with so much awe in her voice that Hope suddenly feels self-conscious.

“I’ve only tried on some of Ethan and Maya’s minor injuries before. And, one time, I healed a baby bird that had fallen out of its nest. I was 11 when it happened, and that’s how I found out about this ability.”

Josie resists the strong urge to coo at the thought of little Hope healing a baby bird. It’s almost too sweet for her to handle, but she didn’t think Hope would appreciate the interjection.

“Can you heal illnesses as well as injuries?”

“Only minor ones, like colds and stuff. And even that takes a lot out of me.” Hope pauses, but Josie could tell she had more to say. “A few years ago, I tried to heal Ethan and Maya’s adoptive grandmother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. My nose started bleeding before I blacked out,” Hope confessed, something like shame written on her face. “I wanted to try again, but they were afraid it’d kill me so they didn’t let me.”

Hope looks so downtrodden that Josie grabs her hand without thinking.

“It’s not your fault, Hope. Everyone has limits.” Josie tries to catch her eyes, but Hope is looking down at their joined hands instead. 

“I’m sorry about the memories, Josie. I didn’t mean to do that to you.” 

“Is it some sort of mindmeld? Like on Star Trek?” Josie bites her lip, hoping that she hasn’t offended the other girl with that reference. “I’m sorry, is that a rude question? I wasn’t trying to make fun, I swear!”

Hope smirks at Josie’s exclamation.

“I mean, I guess? That’s kind of an accurate way to look at it. I mean most of the time I only use it to transmit my thoughts. I didn’t read your thoughts!” she adds quickly. “I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that.”

“I know you wouldn’t, Hope. Not on purpose,” Josie smiles reassuringly.

Josie thinks for a few seconds before gathering the courage to ask what she’s been wanting to ask since Hope promised to tell her everything.

“Can...can you show me again? You can totally say no if you want to,” she says sincerely. “But I’ve been getting these flashes of memories and the lack of context is driving me nuts. It’s like getting a few notes of a song stuck in your head, and you have no idea what it is.”

Hope seems to withdraw into herself, and Josie is scared that she’s stepped over a line this time. 

“I’m sorry. Forget it. That was a stupid request.” 

“If you think it’ll help, I can show you.”

 _Holy shit._ Josie doesn’t know why she’s so excited at the prospect, and she doesn’t feel like looking a gift horse in the mouth. Call it scientific curiosity.

Hope is absolutely terrified about accidentally hurting Josie. Of all her abilities, this is the one she’s utilized the least. There hasn’t been a need for it, but Hope finds herself wanting to tell Josie everything. She wants to bare her soul like a cliched romantic lead. 

“I can show you...from the beginning,” Hope says hesitantly. She’s also scared of what she’d find on Josie’s face when she can actually _see_ Hope’s story. _Would she freak out and run? She’s been handling everything like a champ so far._ Hope was honestly surprised at Josie’s noticeable lack of freaking out. She’s mostly just been really curious.

Josie looks at her in awe and excitement and nods her head, giving Hope permission. So, Hope places her hands once again on the sides of Josie’s head. Her palms tingle, and she feels a little warm. Across from her, Josie’s cheeks are also dusted with a pretty pink. Hope has always loved the way a blush sits so nicely on her complexion. 

Hope mentally slaps herself for getting distracted by Josie’s admittedly lovely face. She focuses on showing the other girl what she’s been wanting to see.

_Light pours through the newly opened pod, and Hope is overwhelmed by her senses. She falls out of the pod and gropes around blindly on the ground. It takes what seems like forever to get a hold of her surroundings. She looks around, vision still blurry, but she can make out two other moving shapes next to her. Each of them are also writhing around in front of an egg-shaped, translucent pod, just like Hope’s. She doesn’t know who they are, but she feels close to them. There’s a need to stay together, to protect them. Josie realizes, as she’s seeing through Hope’s eyes, that they must be Ethan and Maya._

_She and the other two children are wandering around on a dark windy highway. She’s leading the way while the two of them hold on to each other’s hands. Suddenly bright lights are coming towards them. The headlights finally stop moving as the driver of the car pulls to a stop in front of them. The driver jumps out of the car, her silhouette approaches the children in a hurry, voice full of panic. Josie recognizes her as Mrs. Machado, the woman who eventually adopted Ethan and Maya. She asks them questions like who they are and where they came from, but none of them answer._

_They’re in a hospital room. Mrs. Machado is speaking animatedly to a sheriff’s deputy. It’s Alaric Saltzman, looking a decades younger and a lot less weary. The three kids are being examined by a doctor, who is currently testing Ethan’s reflexes. Suddenly, a female doctor with curly hair enters the room, and she and Mrs. Machado hug. Josie’s seen her a couple times at open house nights over the years. She knows it’s Keelin Malroux, one of Hope’s adoptive aunts. Mrs. Machado whispers something to Keelin as the women look over at the three kids._

Josie gasps, the headrush from seeing Hope’s memory makes her slightly dizzy. Hope grips her arms, eyes full of concern.

“Jo? Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” 

Josie shakes her head. One hand comes to rest on Hope’s cheek. She's going to blame the unnecessary contact on her swimming head. The truth is, though, she just wants to touch Hope. She’s always wanted to, but they’ve never been close enough for her to do this so freely.

“Keep going,” she says breathlessly. Hope shakes her head, a worried frown between her brows.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” Josie counters immediately. “Trust me.”

Hope simply stares at her for a moment, and Josie hopes that the determined look on her own face will convince Hope.

Hope slowly, so slowly, places her hands back where they were. 

_Hope is holding on to Keelin’s hand. They’re walking up the steps to a giant house. The Mikaelson manor. A blonde woman--Josie definitely recognizes Freya Mikaelson’s intimidating visage immediately--smiles at her gently, and she gives Keelin a kiss before looking down at Hope again._

_“Hi, Hope. Do you remember me?” the blonde woman says gently as she crouches down to get on Hope’s level. “I’m Freya. You’re going to live with me and Keelin from now on. Is that okay?”_

_Hope doesn’t answer, but instead stares at her curiously. Freya looks up at her wife, a bit of worry on her face, but Keelin simply smiles back._

_“Give her time, honey,” Keelin reassures her._

_They’re back on that fateful morning. The first day of first grade. Hope is holding on to Freya’s hand, eyes taking in the scene in front of her. Children running around the schoolyard. Parents talking among themselves._

_Suddenly a bright yellow dress with white flowers dotting it catches her attention. She locks eyes with the little girl who’s wearing it. Josie. The two stare for a second longer before Josie shoots her a wide carefree grin, missing tooth included. Hope can’t look away, and her chest feels full of some emotion._

_Freya catches her eye line and leans down to whisper to her._

_“Do you want to go make new friends, Hope?”_

_Hope thinks for a second before looking over at Ethan and Maya, both clinging to their mom. She shakes her head and grips tighter onto Freya’s hand. Freya and Mrs. Machado share a sigh._

_“One step at a time,” Freya says quietly and Mrs. Machado nods._

_It’s Valentine’s day. The fourth grade class is buzzing, because the teacher has given them time to make paper valentines for their friends. Hope is decidedly_ not _making any. She’d only be giving it to Ethan and Maya, anyways, and they’re not in her class this year._

_She’s doodling into her notebook when a shadow falls over her desk. She looks up into the wide eyes of one Josie Saltzman. Josie smiles shyly at her, mouth full of braces. She’s wearing a pretty yellow sweater and a navy skirt. Hope suddenly feels self conscious of her t-shirt and jeans. Josie always looks so put together, and Hope is such a slob in comparison._

_“Hi, Hope,” Josie greets her brightly._

_“Hey,” Hope answers, unsure of why Josie is talking to her. Not that she minds. She never minds Josie’s presence._

_Josie is holding onto something with both hands behind her. She slowly reveals the red and white paper valentine, neatly cut and decorated. She gently places it on Hope’s desk along with a lollipop. Green apple, Hope’s favorite. Josie's smile turns a little nervous, and she breaks eye contact._

_“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she says before turning and almost scurrying off. Hope thought Josie’s behavior was odd, but she was still touched by the gesture. Her chest feels warm and she wishes she’d spent the class making a valentine for Josie, too._

_Lizzie is standing in front of the board, her face red and eyes wet._

_“I don’t know how to do it,” she raises her voice almost to a shout. “Why did you call on me?” Their seventh grade math teacher is at a loss, her face like a deer caught in headlights._

_“Lizzie, honey,” she says in a placating tone but Lizzie cuts her off._

_“Why would you call on me? I told you I didn’t want to go up here,” Lizzie is full on screaming now and throws the marker she was holding onto the floor._

_In her peripheral, Hope sees a blur. Josie has moved from her seat to put her arms around her sister. She looks so protective of Lizzie, hands rubbing soothing circles on Lizzie’s back._

_“Mrs. Lawrence, can I please take my sister to the nurse’s office?”_

_Lizzie has started blubbering incoherently through her tears and Josie is whispering gently in her ear. She places a small kiss on the crown of Lizzie’s head._

_“Please, Mrs. Lawrence,” Josie pleads, voice shaky. The urgency of her voice snaps their teacher out of her shock and she nods handing Josie a hall pass._

_Hope finds herself wishing she could help them in this moment. Josie looks so small and fragile, despite trying to put on a strong front for her sister._

_Hope and Ethan are each shoving an ungodly amount of fries into their mouths, and Maya is looking at them with mild disgust._

_“God can you two please breathe while you’re inhaling those?”_

_Hope ignores her jab, because in the corner of her eyes she notices two lanky figures from the kitchen of the diner. Puberty definitely hit the Saltzman twins over the summer with the “tall” stick. They’re both wearing matching, kitschy, waitress uniforms with those ridiculous antennae sitting atop their heads._

_Even so, Hope doesn’t miss the way Josie’s legs go on for miles underneath her dress and apron--_

“Okay, I think that’s enough,” Hope gasps out, suddenly pulling away from Josie. She’s as red as a tomato.

Josie’s eyes flutter open and sees Hope avoiding her eye contact. She has to bite her lip to stop the laughter bubbling up at Hope’s awkwardness.

 _Fuck. Hope Mikaelson was definitely thinking like a horny teenager in that memory because of me._ Josie has never seen Hope so affected. It leaves her oddly satisfied. 

“I should go,” Hope stands up suddenly. “It’s late.” Her demeanor is awkward as she attempts to grab for the doorknob, but Josie quickly grabs onto her hand. 

“Hope, wait,” she says and tries to pull Hope closer to no avail. _She’s so weirdly strong. Oh, right, alien physiology._

Hope is still avoiding eye contact, so Josie steps directly in front of her. She tilts her head in an attempt to catch Hope’s.

“Thank you,” she says sincerely. Hope peers up at her, finally.

“For what?” Hope asks, adorably confused and Josie almost laughs at that.

“For everything,” Josie answers as if it should be obvious. “You saved my life and then you showed me...a part of yourself that you didn’t have to. Thank you for trusting me.” 

“You don’t have to thank me. I only did what I had to.”

“You didn’t actually have to--”

“Of course I did. It’s you,” Hope answers without hesitation, and it makes Josie inhale sharply.

Josie has somehow come within inches of Hope, and they’re almost breathing the same air. She feels the same pull she always does to Hope intensify times ten. She can almost feel her skin tingling, and her eyes are glued to Hope’s lips, which are slightly parted. 

Hope’s gaze, likewise is glued on Josie’s lips, eyes hooded like she was caught in a trance. They’re both leaning in now, like two magnets, drawn to each other.

There’s a loud, insistent buzzing that suddenly fills the quiet of the room, and the spell is broken. Josie’s phone continues to ring where it sits on her nightstand. 

“I should go,” Hope repeats her line from earlier, but this time she’s looking almost regretfully at Josie.

Josie nods for a second, looking just as torn. She makes a quick decision and leans down to peck Hope on her cheek. Hope freezes, and her face flushes.+

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Hope.”

Hope blinks several times before taking a deep breath and seemingly returns from her out-of-body experience.

“See you, Jo,” she replies quietly before practically running out of the house.

Josie looks at her retreating form longingly before the buzzing phone catches her attention once again. She glances at the screen and sees that it’s her mom. Josie sighs before picking up.

That night, as she’s going to sleep, her head is filled with thoughts of Hope and the images from Hope’s memory. She especially replays the last memory Hope had where her eyes were wandering up Josie’s legs.

But, through it all, questions lingered and nagged at the back of her mind. _How did these three alien children manage to slip through the cracks of the federal government? Did no one think to test their DNA to see if it matched any missing children? If they did, then how are Hope, Ethan, and Maya still here living these relatively mundane lives in Roswell, New Mexico?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens, I guess.

**Author's Note:**

> Universe give me the strength to finish this fic.


End file.
